Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

MCAT Behavioral Sciences Review > 3 Learning and Memory > Flashcards

3 Learning and Memory Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
MCAT flashcards
1
Q

learning

A

way we acquire new behavior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

stimulus

A

anything to which an organism can respond

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

habituation

A

repeated exposure to same stimulus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

dishabituation

A

recovery of response to stimulus after habituation has occurred

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

associative learning

A

creation of a pairing or association; either between 2 stimuli or between a behavior and response

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Pavlov’s classical conditioning

A

takes advantage of biological/instinctual responses to create associations between 2 unrelated stimuli

unconditioned stimulus –> unconditioned response
unconditioned stimulus + neutral stimulus –> conditioned response
soon, NS –> CR

not permanent over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

spontaneous recovery

A

after a while, presenting a extinct CS might yield a weak CR

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

generalization

A

similar stimulus to CS can produce CR

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

discrimination

A

learning to distinguish between 2 similar stimuli

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Skinner’s operant conditioning

“behaviorism”

A

links voluntary behaviors with consequences

effort to alter frequency of behaviors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

positive reinforcement

A

increase behavior by adding positive consequence/incentive to follow behavior

stimulus added, behavior continues

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

negative reinforcement

A

increase behavior by removing something unpleasant

stimulus removed, behavior continues

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

escape learning

A

ex. aspirin for an existing headache

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

avoidance learning

A

prevent unpleasantness of something yet to happen

ex. studying for an exam to avoid doing poorly

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

positive punishment

A

adds unpleasant consequence in response to behavior to reduce behavior

stimulus added, behavior stops

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

negative punishment

A

reduction of behavior when a stimulus is removed

stimulus removed, behavior stops

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

A

reinforce behavior after specific number of performances of that behavior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

variable ratio reinforcement schedule

A

reinforce behavior after varying number of performances, but such that the average number is constant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

fixed interval reinforcement schedule

A

reinforce behavior after specific period of time on a fixed schedule

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

variable interval reinforcement schedule

A

reinforce after specific amount of time has passed, but at varying intervals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

shaping

A

process of rewarding specific behaviors

22
Q

latent learning

A

occurs without reward, but spontaneously demonstrated when reward introduced

23
Q

instinctive drift

A

difficulty overcoming instinctual behaviors with conditioning

24
Q

Bandura’s observational learning

A

Bobo doll experiment

modeling
different than imitation

mirror neurons in frontal and parietal lobes of cerebral cortex fire when individual performs action AND when individual observes someone else performing that action

  • motor processes
  • empathy/vicarious emotions
  • imitative learning in primates
25
Q

encoding

A

new information –> memory

26
Q

automatic processing

A

gained without effort

27
Q

controlled (effortful) processing

A

can become automatic

  • visual encoding
  • acoustic encoding
  • semantic encoding (meaningful context)
28
Q

maintenance rehearsal

A

repetition of piece of info

  • keep within working memory
  • store in short-term (eventually long-term) memory
29
Q

sensory memory

A

most fleeting (< 1 second)

iconic (visual)
echoic (auditory)

  • extremely precise and detailed
  • stored (briefly) in projecting areas of brain (occipital and temporal lobes)
30
Q

short-term memory

A

fades in ~30 seconds without rehearsal

7 items +/- 2 limit
housed in hippocampus (responsible for short- to long-term memory conversion)

31
Q

working memory

A

supported by hippocampus
similar to short-term
few pieces of info in consciousness simultaneously and manipulate

ex. mental math

32
Q

long-term memory

A

limitless, recall-on-demand

with enough rehearsal
elaborative rehearsal: association of new info to knowledge already stored

hippocampus storage

33
Q

implicit memory (nondeclarative/procedural)

A

skills and conditioned responses

34
Q

explicit (declarative)

A

memories that require constant recall

  • semantic: facts/concepts
  • episodic: events/experiences
35
Q

retrieval

A

demonstrating something that has been learned has been retained

36
Q

recall

A

retrieval and statement

37
Q

recognition

A

identifying information perviously learned

38
Q

relearning

A

Ebbinghaus “spacing effect”

why cramming is never as effective

39
Q

semantic network

A

concepts lined together by similar meaning

40
Q

spreading activation

A

one part of brain is activated; other concepts unconsciously are activated (linked)

41
Q

Alzheimer’s disease

A

thought to be linked to loss of acetylcholine in neurons that link to hippocampus

progressive dementia and retrograde memory loss
neurofibrillary tangles
beta-amyloid plaques
“sundowning”

42
Q

Korsakoff’s syndrome

A

thyamine deficiency in brain

  • retrograde amnesia (previously formed)
  • anterograde amnesia (inability to form new)
  • confabulation (vivd, fabricated memories)
  • agnosia (loss of ability to recognize objects, people, or places)
43
Q

decay

A

usually linked with aging

44
Q

proactive interference

A

old information interferes with similar new information

45
Q

retroactive interference

A

new information causes forgetting of old information

46
Q

false memory reconstruction

A

confabulation

47
Q

misinformation effect

A

post-event information interferes with memory of initial event

48
Q

source-monitoring effect

A

confusion between semantic and episodic memory

remember details of event, confuses context under which those details were gained

49
Q

neuroplasticity

A

as brain develops, neural connections form rapidly in response to stimuli

childhood

50
Q

synaptic pruning

A

as we grow older, weak connections are dissolved, while strong ones are bolstered

adult efficiency

51
Q

long-term potentiation

A

as stimulus is repeated, stimulated neurons increase efficiency at releasing NTs and receptor at other side of synapse increases sites

MCAT Behavioral Sciences Review (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions